St. Aidan's CBS | Archive | 2001 | Comenius

Historical Events

PRINCIPAL ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED IN THE CIVIL WAR.

Groups on the left:

CNT Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo ‑ Anarcho‑syndicalist trade union

FAI Federacion Anarquista Iberica ‑ Militant wing of the anarchist movement

PCE Partiso Comunista de Espana ‑ Spanish Communist Party, connected with Moscow.

POUM Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista ‑ Effectively a Trotskist group, independent of the PCE, and the PSUC

Prietistas Prieto wing of the PSOE

PSOE Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol ‑ Spanish Socialist Party

PSUC Partido Socialista unificado de cataluna ‑ Pro‑Stalin Marxist party of Cataluna

UGT Union General de Trabajadores ‑ Socialist trade union

Groups on the right:

Carlists The Carlists advocated an autocratic government headed by a rival royal dynasty

CEDA Confederacion Espanola de Derechas Autonomas ‑ Major right ‑ wing group by Gil Robles

Falange Spanish fascist party

BACKGROUND AND MAIN EVENTS OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR:

The leftist reform program instituted by Manual Azana's Popular Front coalition, elected in February 1936, proved increasingly contentious throughout much of Spain.

The Communist influenced agraian policy along with the callous treatment of army and Catholic Church spawned policy along with the callous treatment of army and Catholic Church spawned widespread resentment and anxiety amongst the nations most powerful and influential institutions. Altercations on the streets became frequent whilst in rural areas peasants began to seize land. A coup seemed imminent.

On 18 July 1936 the army issued a pronunciamiento. This followed the murder of Calvo Sotelo, the high profile leader of the smaller right wing "National Block" coalition that was comprised of Monarchist and Fascists. Sotelo's death was a signal to lapse into Anarchy.

In Madrid and Barcelonathe military revolt was quickly stemmed. In the North, however, the army was more successful. There, General Emilio Mola managed to establish his headquarters at Burgos. Furthermore, after seizing control of the Army of,~frica in Morocco, Franco was able to use transport aircraft sent by Mussolini and Hitler to ferry the elite troops to the mainland.

The country soon became divided into a rebel‑held Nationalist zone, which encomassed most rural and agricultural areas, and a Republican zone, comprised of most of the industrial and urban centres.

After the sudden death of Sanjurjo who was expected to lead the rebel movement, Francisco Franco declared himself to be el ~caudilid' The war had begun.

Picasso's alive

The Last Century

1917: The crisis appeared in three levels: military, political and social.

The crisis was caused by the popular anger, provoked by the rise in prices, and the strength of the proletariat’s union. The anger provoked a general strike organised by the UGT (Union General de Trabajadores).

The army was in charge of dealing with this situation.

1923:The Dictatorship. The army’s general Primo de Ribera iniciated a coup d’etat with the support of the Alfonso XIII. He was supported too by the army and the church. The republicans, the industrial’s bourgeoisie, the anarchists and the intellectuals were against his politics.

Primo de Ribera’s regime was loosing popularity because it didn’t resolve the people’s problems. The Dictatorship fall in January1930.

1931: The second Republic. In the municipal election 12/4/1931 the republicans managed to gain victory in all the communities town apart from four. The Spanish monarch had fallen. The new regime commenced on 14/4/1931. Later Political blocks were broken and they could continue no longer. In this situation the army returned. This provoked the start of the Spanish Civil War.

1939- 1975: The Francoism. The Spanish Civil War had finished. The Champinos started a new regime. The economic situation was chaotic and this was worsened with the start of the World War, because when war finished, Spain was isolated from other international organisations. Two years later, Spain was a new member of the ONU.

On the 15/7/1977 UCD won the first election since the Second Spanish Republic. With the result of this election, the francoist regime ended.

1977: The actual Spain. In August 1977 started to write the Constitution. Spain was more active than before. The constitution was approved in 1978, and new elections were held. The government situation was very serious and new elections were held in 1982, and the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol) won. Spain entered into the CEE and is a member of the NATO.

Spain now plays an International role both in Europe and in South America.

PICASSO, Pablo Ruiz (1881‑1973)

Spanish painter and sculptor. He is one of the most important artist of 20th century. He was unique and an innovator artist creating more than 20.000 works.

He was born in Malaga, on 25th October 1881, his parents werw Maria Picasso Lopez and the art professor jose Ruiz Blasco. Pablo was a little genious, at the age of 10 he started to paint and when he was 15 he passed the Fine Arts College exam. They rewarded him for'Ciencia y Caridad in 1897.

BLUE PERIOD: in 1904 he settled in Paris. This period is called 'blue' because in the painter's works these tones predominated. He specially liked the Boheme atmosphere of Paris' streets and he reflected it in his paints.

ROSE PERIOD: Pablo met his first companior, madmoiselle Fernande Olivier. He changed his palette for pinks and reds. The characters of the pictures were people from circus, for example: 'Familia de acrobatas' (1905). He represented portraids too.

PROTOCUBISM: a new phase which started in 1906, when Picasso visited Gosol, Andorra. The Greek, Iberic and African arts influenced him. Protocubism is diveded in two phases, in the second one, the role of the color was more important. Protocubism is described like little cubbs. Picassos' favourite subjects were: music instruments, nature and his friends.

CUBIST SCULPTURE: he worked with metal ('Cabeza de Mujer', 1909), paper, wood, etc ('Mandolina y Clarinete', 1919)

REALISM ~ SUBREALISM: during the First World War Picasso travelled to Rome, where he met the dancer Olga Koklova, who became his wife. In 1917 he painted several portraits of Olga and their unique son: Pablo. At the beginning of 20s he painted huge figures like 'Tres mujeres en la fuente', 1921, the women in the picture have fat bodies and very small heads.

In the 30s his panits showed he falled in love again with a new woman: Marie Therese Walter, together they had a daughter: Maya in 1935.

In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, Franco bombarded Guernica town. Picasso took only 2 months to finish the big mural 'Guernica' . in his way he denounced the atrocities that he saw.. now, this mural is at the Reina Sofia Art Museum in Madrid.

With the Second World War he changed his palette once more for dark and black tones. His sons Claude and Paloma were born with his penultimate love Jacqueline Roque, she married him in 1961.

Picasso last works were based in artists like Velazquez, Coubert, Delacroix and Manet.

Pablo Picasso was famous during his life, something unusual. He died on 3rd April 1973 in Notre‑Dame‑de‑vie

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